Work Between Native Hunters, Biologists Lays Groundwork For Future

Polar bear with skin loss on neck and shoulder found during 2012 survey of Beaufort Sea. Photo from US Geological Survey.

Climate change is causing ice withdrawal and creating stress for animals that live on it. When sick seals started showing up on the beaches off Barrow last July, some saw it as the latest evidence of global warming.

As part of our series on climate change, Johanna Eurich reports that tracking clues behind the ring seal’s sickness created an international effort, with Native hunters working with biologists in a way that may provide a model for responding to future changes in the Arctic.